Three
Worry vs. His Word
HOSEA 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you.
We all have that same problem: being anxious for the future. Worrying about the medical reports. The house payments. How to support and raise a family. Those debts. Finding a job. Figuring out how to pay—or get into—collage. The future is always blurry for us. But not for God.
He said there will always be things to worry about, but that’s because we can’t see things through His eyes. He knows the plans He has for you are amazing, it’s just a test of faith. Many people don’t know how to deal with anxiety, or even worse don’t realize it is something that needs to be taken care of. Have you stopped and thought about the idea of never having to worry? What about your past—have you ever fully, permanently convinced yourself that your past mistakes do not have to impact your future? Well, your past doesn’t matter for God—so why should it matter to you?
A lot of us have accepted the nerves and anxious thoughts. We think anxiety is just something everyone has to live with. By doing that, we accept to wear that negative label and take ownership of anxiety—we choose to live with it because we think there is no real solution.
Being anxious doesn’t mean you don’t love God, but anxiety results from losing sight of the fact that God knows the plans ahead. It’s okay to be dependent on God—in fact it’s vital. Just because you think you can handle it on your own strength doesn’t make it true. Always strive to ask for God’s help and recognize that you cannot do anything without Him. Otherwise, if you depend on your limited, humanly strength, you will find yourself piled under problems and drowning in fear.
Reading God's Word makes it easier to separate from anxiety and cling onto God instead. He is our refuge; we should take comfort in Him, not doubt Him or worry about our future. The power of Jesus is more than we could ever imagine.
We should speak with Him about all of our problems, no matter how small or big. He knows all of our problems and thoughts anyway, so why not talk about them with Him? God wants to hear about our problems, because He created them for us to be closer with Him. He already knows about our issues, and is seeing if we will share and trust them with Him.
Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee.” The moment when we hand God our anxiety is unmatched. No words can describe the peace felt by just saying, “God, I can’t handle this on my own and I am living in anxiety right now. Take the nerves away from me and grant me Your wisdom, strength, and courage. Make me a fighter. Make me an overcomer.” If you truly believe in those words as you say them, God will know you are ready to let go and let Him handle it all.
We should never run anywhere but to God when we start to feel anxious or unsure. Many times we think we can handle things ourselves, yet later realize we do not have anywhere near the amount of strength our Lord possesses—but that’s okay. We were not made to be as strong as Him. When we are weak, God is strong. Even more important, when we feel strong, God is stronger. He can do what could take us years in the blink of an eye. Putting your trust in God means placing your heart in Him and inviting Him into the situation to help you—and He will always come through for you.
God asks in Matthew 6:27, "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span?” Even if you think you work better under pressure or when feeling nervous, the unchanging truth is that worrying or even putting yourself into that position of working with anxiety is sinful and will destroy you. Imagine all the things you have been nervous for in your life, no matter how small or big of a deal it was. Now imagine worrying about all those petty things for the rest of your life—is that how you want to live?
You may strive to do your best in every area of life, but many times those who suffer with anxiety also fear rejection or falling short of perfection. Always strive to do your best, but never try to outdo God or act perfect. You aren’t bothering Him if you suddenly realize you aren’t perfect and need His help. Let go of the anxiety, and let God lead the way for now on.
God wants to remind us He is in control, not us. Nothing is final until God says so. That means no grade, job interview, or health concern is worth worrying over. It’s not even in our control. If you are meant to be in that position God will find some way of bringing you to it, even if takes longer than you might have hoped for. Even if it takes longer for your dreams to become reality just know God did you a favor, whether it be protect you from something or equip you.
Like Matthew 6:27 says, what good can worry give to us? If God, the Creator of everything, is the only One who can see and even change the outcome, isn’t the easiest, and only, solution, just to trust Him? It’s okay to have the struggle of anxiety, though. It only means you have one more victory story to tell your friends and family, another opportunity to be a testimony of God’s power. Don’t think you are alone in your struggle with worry. Many Christians, no matter how much time spent praying, find themselves struggling every day with anxiety.
Realize that worrying, even if we don’t mean to, means doubting God and choosing to take our focus off of Him. Worrying is actually a form of self-idolatry. We are giving anxiety and ourselves all the attention and the power to control us, instead of God. Next time you are anxious about anything, take three deep breaths and ask God to instill in you complete river-like peace, and send His angels of calmness and tranquility to surround you. Anxiety is not a giant we can overcome overnight necessarily; it is a practice in trusting God with every new problem or solution. But over time, through prayer and attentiveness to God’s voice, you will find yourself trusting God more and more and letting go of those uneasy feelings, and all the weight lifting off of you, as focus shifts from your problems to how much God has done for you.
Like Proverbs 12:25 says, “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but an encouraging word cheers him up.” This is God showing us the harm in worrying. Submitting to anxiety means living a life with a heavy heart and burdens too heavy to lift or handle. When we worry, we grieve God. That often slips our mind—we are saddening Him when we choose to worry about life instead of enjoy it and delight in Him for giving it to us. The Bible tells us God delights in the success of His servants. He loves to watch us flourish, and it gives Him glory when we trust Him. Do you think He sits back and smiles when we get worried and fearful? Of course not.
The great thing about God is He already knows the outcome of each and every one of your problems. When you really think about it, what can worrying really do? It definitely won’t change the outcome, and if it changes anything, it will simply prevent you from seeing God’s hand of favor over you. God will reward you for trusting Him to answer your prayer for deliverance. He will free you from your nerves that seem to overcome you. Regardless of the time we spend trying to control the outcome or waiting for an answer, God is always faithful.
He continually comes through and takes care of us because His perfect love is more than we can comprehend. No amount of worrying or sin can change that. He can cheer you up in the blink of His eye, and we can stop living with heavy hearts and anxious thoughts by His grace alone. We don’t realize that we can’t survive on our own strength.
We shouldn’t have to submit to the lies and doubts of our limited vision, which makes us apprehensive about the future. We have a God who sees the whole picture, and with His perfect love there is no fear or worry. Talk with God about your problems and He will find a solution for you. He will deliver you. He will hold you. He will make a way when it seems impossible. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of you and is transforming you to become who He created you to be: a strong, courageous, fearless leader and warrior of God.
When we fall victim to a nervous, heavy, or unsteady heart, we don’t realize the toll it takes on our body. We don’t see the damage until it’s too late. Our energy and strength are shredded to nothing. We stop smiling as much, and become unaware of God’s love shining down on us. We lose hold of The Holy Spirit working and praying on our behalf and filling us with His joy, love, peace, tranquility, and fire. As you offer God all of your praise and trust, He will reveal blessings and grace. You will be see a testimony of His Word and His truth. Let go of all your anxiety and allow God’s radiant Light to pour into your heart. Sense how light and peaceful you feel as you become more attentive of His presence. Set good examples for others and show them how great our God is. God is accomplishing huge tasks inside of you, maybe without you even noticing.
He is working behind the scenes, making sure His plan comes true and that everything is aligned just right. Ask Him to renew your thinking, set your priorities straight, change your mindset, transform you for His glory, and what is means to have an identity in Christ. Open not only your heart to God, but your voice and mind—let Him control your thinking from now on.
With our limited thinking, we do not see solutions to our problems, but God’s vision already sees the finish line. He knows where the path is headed to. He knows every twist, turn, hurdle, and rock on the way. He also sees that light at the end of the tunnel we so desperately want and need. He equips us with strength, power, and wisdom from His hands for the run—all we have to do is trust Him until we see that flag at the end. What is there to worry about? Nothing can win against God!
Philippians 4:6-8 tells us to, “Be anxious for nothing.” Worrying depletes our energy, making God seem distant. Unfortunately, anxiety is one of the toughest obstacles to beat; it seems impossible to go through life without worrying about our situations. But the good news is we don’t have to battle anxiety alone. God is on our side, fighting for us and holding our hands! There are no limits to what God can do; not even the sky can limit Him. I encourage you to turn away from anxiety and proclaim yourself dead to a life of worry.
Faith Reminder
Abandon your past, mistakes, sin, and anxiety, and become alive in Jesus—your true Life! This world may be fast-paced and fallen, but never let it make you lose sight of how close God’s grace and peace are. He is your escape from anxiety. Don’t think that your road to victory is just now starting—God has been working for a long time getting you to this point, and it’s only one step closer to the victory line.